T12 to T8 Lamp & Ballast Retrofits

For a quick return on your investment, replacing T12 lamps and ballasts with high efficiency electronic ballasts and T8 lamps is the smart choice. In many cases, this is the easiest upgrade since the T8 lamps and ballasts fit into the same fixture.

Lighting retrofits can provide energy savings greater than 40% while improving the quality of the lighting. These quality improvements include quiet operation, improved color rendering, and a reduction in HVAC costs due to less heat being generated by the lighting system.

Example:
Existing System:
4-Lamp F34T12 Lamps and magnetic ballast
Power consumption: 148 Watts

Replacement System:
4-Lamp F32T8 Lamp with High Efficiency ballast
Power consumption: 96 Watts – 52 Watt savings (35% reduction)
Light Level: Increase by 3% to 12% depending on lamp used

Alternate Retrofit Options:
4-Lamp F28T8 Energy Saving Lamp with High Efficiency ballast
Power consumption: 84 Watts – 64 Watt savings (43% reduction)
Light Level: Decreases by 3% - Improved color quality may provide better perceived lighting.

Energy Savings Equals Dollars
Based upon the annual operating hours and utility rate, the energy savings can be used to calculate the operating cost savings:

  • Annual Operating Hours
  • Utility rate ($/Kwh)
  • Energy Savings per fixture (Watts)
  • Conversion from W to KW

  • Annual Cost savings per fixture
  •    4,000
  • x $0.12
  • x 64
  • ÷ 1,000

  • $30.72

Multiply this value by the number of fixtures in the facility to determine the total cost savings.

The chart below identifies some of the savings potential with T12 to T8 retrofit, keeping the number of lamps the same:

Existing System
F34T12 Lamps		 High Efficiency Electronic System
F32T8 Lamps            F28T8 Lamps
Lamp
Quantity		 Power
(Watts)		 Power
(Watts)		 Energy
Savings		 Power
(Watts)		 Energy
Savings
1 44 25 19 21 23
2 74 48 26 43 31
3 118 73 45 65 53
4 148 96 52 84 64


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